Originally Posted by WEACLRS
Hmmm...not sure I agree with you. At Colgan I made $23K my first year, $48K my second as a captain for a two year total of $71k...compared to your $70k? And after just 2 1/2 years at Colgan I've applied to SWA, AirTran, and CAL...because I have the turbine PIC time.
My point is regional pay, with a couple of exceptions, is about the same across the board. Chose a regional for other reasons than pay.
I just talked to a from a friend at Colgan - he's been there almost 8 months, still on reserve, 8 days off, not even flying enough to break guarantee (he's on the 1900).
Just because you were lucky enough to get on at the uptick of expansion doesn't mean other people are. He's forcasting at least another 12 months to upgrade, and he says it'll be 3.5 years before he sees the SAAB (with no more expansion).
Point being, you can take the risk of short upgrade, but then get stuck at the bottom, or take the risk of a longer upgrade, but have a better QOL if you get stuck. Compare that $23k x 2 years ($46k) to our $70k...quite a big difference, isn't it?
Congrats on applying to majors - it's certainly a big milestone. You are definately in a good position if they start hiring later on. A CA I just flew a trip with was interviewed and hired at SWA WITHOUT a type rating, he just had to get it prior to starting groundschool.